Electric terminal connections



Oct. 29, 1957 T. A. GREEN ELECTRIC TERMINAL C-ONNECT'IONS Filed Aug. 50; 1954 FIG. I

INVENTOR. THOMAS A- GREEN Q ATTO United States Patent ELECTRIC TERMINAL CONNECTIONS Thomas Allen Green, Willoughby, Ohio, assignor to Bailey Meter Company, a corporation of Delaware Application August 30, 1954, Serial No. 452,766

1 Claim. (Cl. 200163) This invention relates to a terminal block structure including an improved conducting member arrangement capable of connecting, or disconnecting, electric circuits terminating at terminal posts mounted on the terminal block.

In wiring panel boards, and in other locations, it is often necessary to install a large number of terminal blocks to receive the wire ends of electric circuits. In such installations it is convenient to provide terminal blocks in which the electric circuit between cooperating terminal posts can be readily disconnected for testing or service purposes. It is, of course, advantageous to provide sturdy, yet simple and inexpensive terminal blocks having such disconnect features. Y

The prior art does not disclose terminal blocks having disconnect features of the advantageous simplicity of my invention.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide a single unitary conducting member to serve as a disconnect means.

A further object of my invention is to provide a disconnect means which is easily operable in a barrier type multi-terminal block including an identification strip.

Still another object is to provide a disconnect means for a terminal block consisting of a unitary member slideable in relation to fixed terminal posts or connection points.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a two-circuit terminal block wherein one conducting member is shown in connect position and the second being shown in a disconnect position.

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of a multiple terminal block including barriers, an identification strip and a plurality of conducting members of my invention.

In Fig. 1 I show a terminal block or structure having a base 1 of suitable insulating material. The base is provided with slots 2 and 3 adapted to receive tenninal posts and conducting members. Threaded into suitable inserts in the base 1 are metallic screws or terminal posts 4, 5, 6 and 7, to which are joined electric wires 8, 9, 10 and 11 respectively. The wires may be bared and directly connected below the heads of the terminal posts or may be provided with known types of cup, lug, or spade, provisions.

The invention provides an extremely simple arrangement, namely, three movable parts for connecting a pair of circuit wires or for temporarily disconnecting them. For example, referring to the upper-most portion of Fig. 1, the terminal posts 5, 6 are joined by a disconnect member 12, slideable in the groove or slot 2 and shown as having one extremity under the head of terminal post and the other extremity under the head of terminal post 6, thus electrically joining the wires 9, 10.

It is frequently desired that the circuit 9-10 be temporarily disconnected and, in certain instances, that the opening between the disconnected circuit 910 be joined by an artificial load or test leads of an indicating instrument. The lower circuit of Fig. 1 is shown in such a disconnect condition. Herein, the screws 4, 7 have been loosened sufiiciently so that the disconnect member 12is readily slideable longitudinally in slot 3 and has been so moved, in Fig. 1, to an extreme of travel toward the left of the drawing.

Member 12 is provided, on one end (the right hand end in Fig. 1) with a notch or recess 13, and on the other end (Fig. 1) with a notch or recess 14. The width of the notches 13, 14 is slightly greater than the largest thread diameter of the terminal posts screws so that the member 12 may readily slide into, or out of, encircling engagement with the terminal posts. The member 12 is preferably of brass, copper or similar highly conductive material providing an efiicient electrical connection between the terminal posts as shown'in the upper portion of Fig. 1.

A particular feature of my invention is in providing the member 12 with beveled end tips 15 so that longitudinal movement of the member 12 will readily cause the ends of the member to slide under the heads of the terminal posts and/ or the ends of the wires or wire-lugs surrounding the said post below the post head. A further particular feature of the connecting member 12 is the integral raised portion 16 providing a ready means for longitudinally moving the member.

The upper portion of Fig. 1 shows a continuous electrical connection between wires 9 and 10, by means of the member 12, with the terminal posts 5 and 6 clamping the ends of wires 9, 10 and the member 12, into electrical conducting connection. If it is desired to break such connection it is only necessary to use a screw-driver and loosen the post heads and, as will be seen from the lower portion of Fig. 1, to place the screw-driver end against the raised projection 16 and readily slide the member 12 longitudinally toward the left. The long guiding notch 14 prevents the member 12 from becoming entirely separated from the assembly so that it can not fall out or change its basic relative position in the assembly. At the same time, movement of the member 12 (Fig. 1) towards the left to the limit of notch 14, has disconnected the notch 13 and adjacent portions of member 12, from the terminal post 4. The wires 8, 11 may readily be reconnected by moving the member 12 toward the right with the bevels 15 sliding easily under the Wire 8 terminal and head of the post 4 with the shank of terminal 4 entering notch 13 until travel is limited, to produce the assembly shown in the upper portion of Fig. 1.

In Fig. 2 I show a plurality of similar assemblies of terminal posts and conducting connectors in a barrier type terminal block 17 having barriers 18 formed as extensions of the insulating base to insulatingly separate the circuits and prevent the possibility of accidently shorting across from one terminal post to another or from one connecting member to another by means of screw-driver or other tool and, furthermore, to prevent arcing or other shortcircuiting conditions. This barrier type of block is used to illustrate how my invention is applied thereto in providing a readily separable disconnecting or connecting means for terminal posts, having a minimum of removable or movable parts arranged so that the circuit may be disconnected without removal of parts or the possible dropping out of parts from the assembly or into shortcircuiting position with other portions of the assembly.

Fig. 2. also shows a terminal identification or marking strip 19 in position, and it will be apparent that it is unnecessary to remove this marking strip when it is desired to disconnect or reconnect any one of the circuits. Having loosened the terminal screws (for example 4, 7) the screw-driver may be used to readily reach blow or past the marking strip 19, engage the raised projection 16, and move the member 12 longitudinally of the recess or slot between the raised barriers. In reverse manner the screwdriver may be placed against the projection 16 to move the member 12 into connection position again, with such Patented Oct. 29, 1957 engaging movement readily facilitated by the beveled ends 15 of the member.

It will be seen that I have provided, in connection with a terminal block assembly, an improved connecting and disconnecting means for the cooperating terminal posts of an electrical circuit. A minimum of parts is necessary and the arrangement is such that the connecting member,

for connecting between fixed terminal posts, is readily moved into and out of engagement with said terminal posts, without removal of parts or danger of any of the parts falling out, to become lost or to short against other terminal posts or to ground. To my knowledge, the prior art has not shown such improved and simplified construction nor one having the advantages of the novel connecting member 12 previously pointed out.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

An electric terminal block structure, including, a base of insulating material; a pair of spaced conductive terminal posts carried by the base and having provisions for each receiving at least one electric conductor terminal and holding it relative to the base;,and a slideable elongated electric conducting bridging member for the posts having at one end an elongated open end recess loosely spanning the related post and at the other end a similar but shorter recess loosely spanning the other post, the space between the recess ends along the bridging member being less than the spacing of the posts on the base, the member having a generally rectangular cross-section relative to its longitudinal axis extending from each end toward the center a distance greater than the length of said recesses, and with a portion of larger cross-sectional area near the longitudinal center to provide a projection against which there may be applied a sliding force to move the member longitudinally relative to the fixed terminal posts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 512,774 Warner Jan. 16, 1894 2,032,301 Newman Feb. 25, 1936 2,552,028 Blair May 8, 1951 

